Today’s blog will be rather short and to the point as I am not feeling the best. I took a new supplement (new to me) last night that is supposed to help sleep and enhance fat metabolism. I go to the same vitamin store to get my protein, daily vitamins and anything else I might get from time to time.

The gentleman in the store is very nice and informed. He told me that the product would be a good answer to some of the questions that I had been asking him. Longer story short, do your own research and don’t just take the advice of others. That includes advice you may get from me.

True, I work out 5-6 times a week and recommend some things that have worked and are still working for me, things might be different for you.

The product is supposed to be amazing, but the recommendation is to take half a dose of it before the whole. I wish I had read that before I took it last night. Feel very drowsy and lethargic. Yet, after calling the company and reading pages upon pages of reviews on the product this morning, I’m confident that if I cut the dosage down, the results will be much better tomorrow. I will let you know. I wasn’t able to go to the gym today or anywhere else as I am not comfortable even driving. Will keep you posted. Have a great upcoming weekend, write out those goals, review them and begin to take action to make them happen. — Tank

OK, the Tankism was yesterday so I have a quote for ya today. Just got back from the gym and had a great conversation with a new friend. It’s amazing what you learn when you’re not afraid to open your mouth up and talk to someone. We’re all people and our relationships are what define us. Just something to think about… Now, here’s the quote:

“Who said it could not be done? And what great victories has he to his credit which qualify him to judge others accurately?” – Napoleon Hill

Now, go get yours, naysayers beware of a person who has themselves together and have made up their minds to succeed at all costs OK, so I had to throw a Tankism in there anyway!

Good morning, afternoon, evening all my fine feathered friends (yes, I like that expression). I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I spent most of my weekend watching football. My cousin and I developed this “texting war” when the games come on. He’s in South Carolina so instead of calling each other after every play, we text things like “In da Face!” and “Boo-yah!” and “Wait for it…” lol. Last week I got him good when the Cardinals beat the Packers and he got me when the Saints got the Cards this past weekend.

I have to say, one of the best if not unexpected games of the weekend was the Jets vs the Chargers. I know some of you may not be football fans, but those of you that are, most of you were shocked by the outcome I’m sure…unless you were the Jets or their coach.

This man, the Jets head coach told everyone that they should be the favorite going into the playoffs to win the whole thing. Do you know how many people laughed at him. Do you know how many analysts called him crazy and out of his mind? Do you know how many so called experts said they would be out of the playoffs in the first game they played?

I mean after all, they only made the playoffs because one of the elite teams let them win at the end of the season and so they squeaked into the playoffs on what many called a technicality. So, since you’re not supposed to be there go ahead and lose so we can be right and get on the air and tell everyone how right we were about how deserving you were “not” of being there. Anybody see where I’m going with this?

The coach believed that his team could win it all. He didn’t keep it to himself. He let his team know, “We will win it all.” He is said to have made a schedule for his team all the way up to their Super Bowl parade. What? How dare you have the audacity, little rookie coach with the inexperienced rookie quarterback to even think you have a chance at the crown. You will be one and done, don’t you know that?

The coach did not buy into that. Even though EVERYBODY was telling him how unworthy he and his team was, he did NOT but into that. He got himself to believe, he got his team to believe. Lo and behold, they are in the championship game.

At this point, it does not actually matter if they even go to the Super Bowl. They have already exceeded expectations. They have already won, and so can you.

This is week three of 2010 and this is right about the time where people start to forget about their resolutions. Life keeps happening and they are just taking things as they come. They never wrote down their resolutions. Some may have written them down but they don’t look at them everyday so “out of sight, out of mind.” The media is quick to tell you how many people never follow through on their resolutions. I implore you, don’t let that be you.

If you have not written down your goals, WRITE THEM DOWN. If you have written them down but have not looked at them in a while, LOOK AT THEM. If you have not acted on what you set out to do because life got in the way, PRIORITIZE YOUR GOALS. UKANduit! If someone has done, so can you. It’s just a matter of imaginary time. Live each day as if you are already in possession of that which you desire. Feel the emotion each day as you would if you were the person with the things, characteristics and attributes you SEE yourself as. One day at a time, one bite at a time. I believe in you, now it’s your turn to believe in yourself, against all odds, all obstacles and naysayers. UKANduit!

OK, I guess this was more like a Tankism so I will post the saying tomorrow of one of my favorite authors. Take care and I hope you have a wonderful week of accomplishment.

Today when I went to the gym, the lady at the front of the desk was like, “Man, you a soldier! I see you in here all the time!” And to that I responded, “Pretty much. ”

Then, the lady that does the daycare said as I dropped my youngest daughter off, “Man, you are dedicated. I wish I had that type of dedication.” To which I replied, “Started when I was a kid.”

Yes, I am in the gym 5 to 6 times a week and it is kind of funny to me that I would have two people comment to me basically the same thing on the day I write this blog. Who knows, maybe they’ll start following it.

My health is very important to me. For a person that goes to the doctor as unoften as I can, eats healthily (although I do have a weakness for chips and brownie sundaes) takes his vitamins and lives life un-vaccinated, I have to take care of myself; it’s become a way of life.  That’s where “Built Like a Tank” gets it’s origin.  The name is from an old NWA song but it fits.

If you take care of your body, it’s the best pharmacy, the best healer, the best looking, low fat, get you whistles from the opposite sex-thing there is.

OK, so it’s a new year. It’s still January so your resolutions have to be on your mind still, right? Right? Right. I will be making weekly postings about fitness and nutrition tips as best as I can. I know a little bit about training (have to thank my uncle Jeff for that one). The first thing I have to tell you about health and fitness is that being healthy and fit has to be a MUST for you. If it’s not, you will yo-yo up and down for the rest of your life. So the starting point has to be you DECIDING THAT YOU MUST GET INTO SHAPE AND STAY HEALTHY FOR LIFE.

We’ll talk more about how to do that in the coming weeks. An assignment for you this week should be to make a firm decision on where you want to be health and fitness-wise. Your weight, bodyfat, dress size, pant size, shirt size, etc. Everything. Find someone that you can aspire to, a fitness role model that’s attainable for you. Get some pics, cut them out, make a fitness vision board. Have fun with it. We’ll talk more about it next week. DECIDE to come back and read what I have to say

Good morning all my fine feathered friends. Just got back from the gym and I am about to go relax in a bath. Before I do, I’m starting off the afternoon with one of my own quotes. Some of you that have followed me for a while may remember some of the Tankisms for the first couple weeks. I want to introduce them to everyone here and then new ones will be coming in the coming weeks. Until tomorrow, be blessed, keep an open mind and let love be your guide

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Question: When is NOW a good time for you to start living life and going after your dream?

Yesterday’s gone and will never return again, no matter how hard you try, you cannot change your PAST

The FUTURE is written by what you do in the PRESENT, i.e. NOW!

NOW is all you’ve got. This moment, this time, this NOW.

So, when is NOW a good time for you?

Good day to you all. I apologize for getting this blog off to such a late start. I woke up this morning to type it and my internet was down. Things happen, right?

So I’ve given thought as to how I want to do these Motivational Mondays and since Tankisms will be on Tuesdays, I will provide tips from books and stories that I’ve read from other sources that have motivated me. Poems, sayings, quotes, parables, verses, etc. just depending on how I feel I can best get my point across to my readers on that day.

Please remember, it’s all love. And if we all can begin to see that which we “intend” to see in all situations and people we encounter, your life will be exactly as you intend it to be; it has no choice.

Time is the only factor and if you begin to look at time as something is neither real or fake, present or non existent, i.e. Time just “is” It neither passes or sits still, it just “is.” Which means that if you visualize and actively “live” that which you want and how you see yourself in the “future” you already have that in the present… Heavy for a first blog but take some time to really think about what I wrote above. I will explain it even better in a future blog. There is a poem that I love that encompasses my own life philosophy. Get your week off to a great start. See it from start to finish. See what you want to accomplish in area and work towards making that vision, that pre-cursor manifest itself as the days go by.

IF YOU THINK YOU ARE BEATEN, YOU ARE;
IF YOU THINK YOU DARE NOT, YOU DON’T;
IF YOU LIKE TO WIN, BUT THINK YOU CAN’T, IT IS ALMOST CERTAIN YOU WON’T.

IF YOU THINK YOU’LL LOSE YOU’VE LOST,
FOR OUT OF THE WORLD WE FIND
SUCCESS BEGINS WITH A FELLOW’S WILL-
IT’S ALL IN THE STATE OF MIND.

IF YOU THINK YOU ARE OUTCLASSED, YOU ARE-
YOU’VE GOT TO THINK HIGH TO RISE.
YOU’VE GOT TO BE SURE OF YOURSELF BEFORE YOU CAN EVER WIN A PRIZE.

LIFE’S BATTLES DON’T ALWAYS GO TO THE STRONGER OR FASTER MAN;
BUT SOON OR LATE THE MAN WHO WINS IS THE MAN WHO “THINKS HE CAN.”

-Author Unknown

What a whirlwind month! I have had so much fun. Ever since I “surrendered,” doors have been opening left and right; I am so grateful and you don’t even know…

And to think, the cherry on top comes tomorrow when I get to be in a commercial with my own daughter. I am more excited about that than anything else that I have done. We are going to have so much fun together!

I have to say, though that Friday was a pretty cool day also. It started off going to set to shoot my scene for CSI: Miami; I didn’t know that it was the #1 show in the world! Who woulda thought? I got to go into my trailer and it was nice. TV, DVD, Radio, Microwave, shower… Got dressed, hair and makeup and then it was time to rehearse.

I was playing a prison guard so we were shooting in a jail like setting. I was to transport a prisoner from his cell to be executed. He had been in prison for a while and we had gotten to know each other a little so it was sad that he was going to have to go to the chair. My job was ala Tom Hanks in The Green Mile. Well, we get ready to rehearse and lo and behold, The Dead Zone himself Anthony Michael Hall was my prisoner. I smiled because I have to admit that I am a fan.

I don’t get star struck so it was just admiration. I honestly didn’t recognize him at first, but after a couple rehearsals I did. I was to shoot 4 scenes so we rehearsed for nearly an hour. The reason we rehearsed for so long was because one of the scenes was going to be tricky to shoot based on how it was written. We had to do some “trickeration” with the scene to make it work.

One of the things we had to do was to get into a scuffle with one another in the cell. We didn’t know what type of scuffle. We tried to mark it but it just became its own deal, very organic and a lot of fun. For me, it was like when I got to manhandle George Clooney on the set of Three Kings.

Now, I cannot give away too much with this blog because the episode hasn’t aired yet. Let’s just say that I had a lot of fun, received a lot of praise, had a lot of laughs and lost a lot of skin on my arm, lol. We got a little off balance on one of the last shots of the day and my arm got caught underneath Anthony Michael. When I got up I could see some of my arm skin on the concrete wall. There was blood running down my arm, man! And, my thought was… “This is cool!” My other thought was, “Do I get hazard pay for this?”

They cleaned it up, put a liquid band-aid on it and we finished the rest of the shots with that part of my arm out of site. Hope it looks good when it airs. Anthony Michael, if you’re reading this you’re a cool cat. Had a lot of fun and enjoyed the conversations with you. Sorry guys, I didn’t get pics because I forgot to charge my camera. I guess you’ll just have to wait for the episode to air. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and keep sending those positive vibes and prayers this way so 2010 and beyond can just build on the foundation that December 2009 has started.

Now, I’m about to prepare to eat strawberry ice cream all day tomorrow with my girls

As I walked into the AMC theater this morning, I could sense something was in the air. I heard a father kidding his little son about movies. His kid was all excited to go see a film. His dad was naming every film but the film the little kid wanted to see: The Princess and the Frog. This little white kid, his father, mother and two bigger sisters all clamoring to go see “The Princess.”

Now you all should know me by now, I’m not big on labels and I think everyone could keep their culture without throwing race into everything and still be perfectly fine (just my humble opinion). Yet, when I saw this and then walked into the theater and saw children of EVERY race, with their parents to see “The Princess….” When I saw my children, especially my youngest with eyes glued to the screen and smiling… when I heard the clapping of EVERYONE in the theater after the film was complete, I had a thought…could this film change the world?

There have not been very many films and images of blacks to come out of Hollywood relative the films that perpetuate stereotypes. Sure, this film had a few, sure there was that black magic stuff, sure the father died and wasn’t a big part of the film, or was he? The story was about the daughter and her dream, a dream that was inspired by her father.

I enjoyed the film very much and my girls were overjoyed. The imagery and the celebration of the culture, the love story, the girl that looked like them and the many millions that will see it and fall in love with a young girl who doesn’t look just like them…the merchandise that will be sold with the likeness of a brown, hope filled, smiling and beautiful young lady to people that she doesn’t look like…

Could this film change the world? Could this film plant the seed of tolerance, hope and belief in the minds of this young generation? Time will tell…

Happy Holidays

Tank Jones

Can I just say that I love being a parent? I really do.  I remember the carefree days before I was thrust into “dad-hood.”  I had fun and never thought that I would be a father.  Now that I’ve been a dad for nearly six years, I really enjoy it.  Kids really do say and do the darndest things.

Both of my girls are doing very well and adapt to situations rather quickly.  Right now, I’m sitting at the computer while helping them with their homework.  I, for the life of me will never understand a person who has bore a child and does not feel that child is the most precious gift.

My oldest is in Kindergarten.  I want to put her in first grade and I know she will do well there.  But, fun in school is important to me.  She learns a lot at home.  She’s learning Mandarin for God’s sake, lol.  She’s going to be home schooled after this year anyway so I’ll let her have some fun even though the work she brings home, her 4 year old sister can do.

Just wanted to share.  I encourage all the parents out there to keep the faith.  I even ask some of the parents out there to put some comments on what they do to parent their children and “train them in the direction they should go…”  Inquiring mind (me) would like to know.

What does it all mean? I had this long blog ready and I just deleted it.  I don’t know if I wanted the message to be put up as I can never take it down. So, I’ll pose the question to you just as it’s going through my head at the moment… What does it all mean?  That’s it for today…